Lighting system and control for aquaculture

ABSTRACT

A method of experimenting on aquatic life in an indoor facility and lighting assembly for accomplishing the same. The lighting assembly includes a lighting device that emits light at a predetermined wavelength that provides a minimum water penetration depth and is positioned in a manner to provide uniform lighting at the air and water interface within a containment unit housing the aquatic life. The on and off function are also controlled by the lighting assembly to provide a gradual turn on and off to prevent interference of effects of lighting with experimental results.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent Ser. No. 14/820,588entitled Lighting System and Control for Experimenting in Aquaculture,to Grajcar et al. and filed Aug. 7, 2015 that claims benefit to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/034,490 filed Aug. 7, 2014entitled. Lighting System and Control For Experimenting in Aquacultureto Grajcar et al. and that application is incorporated by reference infull.

BACKGROUND

This invention is related to LED Lighting Assemblies. More specifically,this invention relates to an LED lighting system and control system foruse when experimenting in indoor or covered aquaculture units.

Lighting can be used to affect the physiology of aquatic animals.Specifically, light is needed for growth of most animal species and cansubstantially affects the animals' feeding, reproduction, and locationin the water column, among other processes. Further, studies have shownthat different living organisms are both behaviorally andpsychologically affected by light and in particular the wavelength oflight they receive. This holds true whether the living organism is aplant or animal as is discussed in several patents by the present,inventor, including provisional patent application No. 61/669,825entitled Light Sources Adapted to Spectral Sensitivity of Plants toGrajcar and 61/698,074 entitled Aquatic System for ManipulatingPsychological and Physiological Effects in Aquatic Life to Grajcar, boththat are incorporated in full herein.

In addition, in the field of aquaculture as issues with pollution andtransportation costs continue to rise outdoor aquaculture facilities arestarting to have significant drawbacks. In particular there is a desirein the aquaculture industry to have indoor aquaculture facilities. Forexample, in Las Vegas, several in an attempt to reduce transportationcost and to ensure the freshest ingredients some restaurants receivetheir fish, lobster, shrimp, etc. from local indoor aquaculturefacilities.

One of the main differences between indoor aquaculture and covered unitsand outdoor aquaculture is the use of artificial lighting as opposed touse of the sun for light. In particular artificial lighting does notprovide the same spectrum or wavelength as the sun where many livingorganisms have both psychological and physiological responses to certainwavelengths as discussed above. As a result of this, companies anduniversities alike are doing experiments on not just indoor aquaculture,but also the effect of artificial lighting, including in the tank andunderwater lighting.

A problem exists at these facilities however, in that the artificiallighting in these facilities themselves effect test results.Specifically, with workers turning artificial lighting on and off andthe suddenness of lighting that goes on and off is not natural in natureand is typically shown as presenting a negative effect on the aquaticanimal. Similarly, the amount of secondary lighting from artificiallighting also effects experiments and makes repeatability of experimentsdifficult at best, thus minimizing scientific relevance of results.Thus, a need in the art exists for lighting products that minimizevariations and effects of artificial lighting for workers on experimentsand lighting within an experiment in an indoor or covered unit.

Thus a principle object of the present invention is to provide alighting method that minimizes the effect of lighting on aquatic life;

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cost effectivelighting system that reduces stress of aquatic life.

These and other objects, advantages and features will become apparentfrom the specification and claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of experimenting on aquatic life in an indoor facility byproving a lighting system that emits uniform lighting across acontainment unit. The uniform lighting is provided at the air and waterinterface within the containment unit. In addition the light emitted isat a predetermined wavelength that does not penetrate the surface of thewater to illuminate the aquatic life and gradually turned on and off. Inthis manner the aquatic life within the containment unit is leasteffected by the above the water lighting to ensure results ofexperiments are not skewed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side plan view of an aquaculture facility.

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of a lighting device of a lighting system.

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of a lighting device of a lightingsystem.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a lighting device of a lightingsystem.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a control system for a lighting system.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of circuitry of a lighting system;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a substrate with circuitry of a lightingdevice of a lighting system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The figures show an indoor rearing facility 10 that includes a dwelling12 such as a building. The dwelling 12 either has a plurality ofcontainment units 14 such as tanks, pools and the like for housingaquatic life 16 or the dwelling 12 can be a singular covered unit 17filled with water that houses the aquatic life 16.

The figure also shows a lighting system 28 that in one embodimentincludes a plurality of electrical conduit bodies 30 that receive andelectrical input from an electrical source 32. The electrical conduitbodies 30 house wiring 34 that extend to provide an electric excitationsignal to different areas in the dwelling. In one embodiment the wiringis electrically connected to a socket 36 to receive a lighting assembly38.

Alternatively, any style of power source, including but not limited toEdison bases, junction boxes, hanging assemblies or the like can bepresented without falling outside of the present disclosure and thedisclosure is not considered limited. In one embodiment the lightingsystem 28 incorporates a junction box that is water resistant or waterproof, depending on the requirements of the location of the system. Thiswater resistance is an important feature of the system, allowingapplication in areas where there is significant humidity and accidentalcontact with water. In another embodiment the light is secured to theapex of a roof 39, in a junction box or otherwise, to evenly distributelight.

The lighting assembly 38 includes a base 40 having electrical conductingelements 42 therein that threadably and electrically connects within thesocket 36 as is known in the art. The base 40 is either threadablyreceived or compression fit onto a frustroconally shaped body 44 havinga hollow interior 46 and a sidewall 48 that extends outwardly and awayfrom a first end 50 having a first diameter to a second end 52 having asecond diameter greater than the first diameter. In this manner whenwaste or feces or water is sprayed on the body 44 the material flowsdownwardly and off the assembly 38. At the second end is a ring element54 that is of size and shape to engage a sealing element 56 that in apreferred embodiment is made from an elastic material that expands uponcompression. The sealing element 56 is secured between the ring element54 and heat sink 58 to provide a water tight seal therebetween. In thismanner electrical wiring 60 is electrically connected to the conductivebody through the body 44 and heat sink within a water tight assembly 38.

In an alternative embodiment a socket 36 is not presented and insteadthe wiring is directly provided. In this embodiment the body 44 with thebase 40 are not provided and instead the electrical wiring 60 disposedthrough the heat sink is directly or hard wired to the wiring 34 of theconduit to provide a direct electrical connection. The heat sink is thenthreadably and/or sealing connected to the conduit again to provide awater tight seal to prevent water from being within the interior of theheat sink 58 and being exposed to the electrical wiring 60.

The heat sink 58 in a preferred embodiment is made of a plastic materialand has a plurality of fin elements 62 that assist in conveying heatthrough the sink 58. The heat sink 58 extends from a first end 64adjacent the conduit bodies 30 that receives the sealing element 56 inone embodiment and is sealed to a conduit body 30 in another to secondend 66. The second end 66 is secured to a diffusion element 68 that hasa frustroconical shape having a sidewall 69 that extends from a firstend 70 outwardly and downwardly from the heat sink 58 to an open secondend 72 having a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the firstend 70 and terminating in a lip element 74. By being sloped at an angleand downwardly, again, water, feces and other materials often known toswine facilities 10 flow off the diffusion element 68, yet the lipelement 74 keeps a robust design to withstand the harsh environment.

A substrate 76 is also secured to the second end 66 of the heat sink 58and in one embodiment has a generally round shape. The substrate also inone embodiment is a printed circuit board. FIG. 4 shows the substrate 76having driving circuitry 78. The circuitry is similar to that taught inU.S. Pat. No. 8,373,363 entitled Reduction of Harmonic Distortion forLED Loads, by Z. Grajcar and issued on Feb. 12, 2013 and U.S. patentapplication entitled “Color Temperature Shift Control for Dimmable ACLED Lighting,” Ser. No. 12/824,215, which was filed by Z. Grajcar onJun. 27, 2010, the entire contents of each of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

The circuitry 78 of the present invention includes a rectifying device80 that receives current from an AC source 82 and includes a first groupof light emitting diodes 84 arranged in series with a second group oflight emitting diodes 86, both of which comprise diodes emitting whitelight. A third group of light emitting diodes 88 comprising diodesemitting red light are presented in parallel to the first and secondgroups of diodes 84 and 86. Red light emitted is considered any lighthaving a wavelength approximately between 620 nm and 780 nm.Alternatively light emitting diodes having providing blue light, orhaving a wavelength approximately between 400 nm and 500 nm could beused without falling outside the scope of this invention. A bypass path90 is presented with a first impedance element 92, that in oneembodiment is a transistor. In a Preferred embodiment the firstimpedance element 92 is a depletion MOSFET, though a p-channel MOSFET,n-channel MOSFET or the like can be used without falling outside thescope of this disclosure, even if an additional transistor is requiredfor functionality purposes. A first resistor 94 is also provided tocontrol the flow of current through the first impedance element 92 toprovide smooth and continuous current flow.

A second bypass path 96 is also provided with a second impedance element98 that similarly in one embodiment is a depletion MOSFET. Similar tothe first bypass path 90 the second bypass path 96 utilizes a secondresistor 100 again to control the impedance element 98. Similarly also,a third bypass path 102 is provided between the third group of lightemitting diodes 88 and first and second groups of light emitting diodes84 and 86. Again, this bypass path 102 utilizes a third impedanceelement 104 and third resistor 106 to provide similar functionality asthe other bypass paths. In this manner when a dimming device 108 iselectrically connected to the circuit and the voltage begins dropping,current flow to the first group of diodes 84 drops first, dimming outthe first group of white diodes. Then as dimming continues and athreshold current is reached the second group of light emitting diodes86 begin to dim. Thus, again white light is slowly dimmed and eliminatedfrom the output light. In this manner only the third group of lightemitting diodes 88 that are red remain providing light. A supplementalresistor 109 optionally is provided to limit current in the system andto improve efficiencies.

A lens element 110 is secured to the heat sink 58, diffusion element 68or both. In one embodiment fastening elements 112 are utilized toprovide the connection. In particular the lens element 110 is secured toprovide a water tight seal so that water cannot encroach the interior ofthe assembly 38.

In addition the LEDs 86 are spaced equidistant about the substrate 76 toprovide even or uniform directional lighting. Specifically, lightemitted from the diodes equally present the same lumen output such thatlighting assemblies 38 can be spaced equidistant to ensure even anduniform lighting throughout a dwelling and onto the tanks 14 housing theaquatic life. In singular covered units 17, the lighting assembly 38 orassemblies 38 are placed so that there is even illumination (lux) on thesurface area of the air/water interface and at the substrate area of theunit. In particular the assembly is designed and assembly or assemblies38 positioned to provide uniform lux at the air/water interface tominimize effect on the aquatic life 16 as a result of lighting changesor inconsistencies.

Consequently, with a programmable dimming device 108 the lightingassembly 38 can provide light throughout a 24 hour period to optimizeconditions for experimentation. Specifically, the dimming device 108 canbe programmed to gradually turn on at very low intensity levels andgradually over a predetermined time period, such as in one example 2hours go from darkness to a maximum intensity. Thus, with the uniformlighting and gradual increase of intensity, the lighting assemblies 38have minimal effect of aquatic life 16 that is being tested within tanks14. Similarly, at night, when it is time for individuals to leave thedimming device 108 is programmed to gradually decrease lumen intensityuntil the assemblies 38 no longer emit light. Again, in this manner, incombination with the even or uniform lighting the least amount ofchange, effect or stimulus on the aquatic life 16 is realize by theaquatic life 16. In this manner test results are unlikely to be skewedby effects of general lighting within a dwelling 12.

A control system 118 is electronically connected to the lightingassemblies 38. The control system 118 includes an input 119 foractuating a computing system 120 having programming 122 thereinassociated with a timing device 124. The control system 118 additionallyhas a dimming device 126 that is electrically connected to the timingdevice 124 such that the programming 122 at predetermined periods willautomatically dim the lighting assemblies 38 to a predetermined lightsetting. The control system 118 in one embodiment communicates remotelythrough over the air communications, via Wifi or as is known in the artto provide lighting and dimming information to an individual having aremote computing device 128 or handheld device 130 having the capabilityto receive such communication. In one embodiment the computing device128 or handheld device 130 may be used to communicate instructions tothe control system 118 such that the control system 118 is remotelycontrolled by the remote device 128 or 130. Examples of the remotedevices include but are not limited to computers, laptop computers,tablets, IPads, smartphones, blackberries, remote controls and the like.

The dimming process of the lighting system is designed to afford maximumvariability in intensity with very little variation in spectral output.Particularly the spectrum of this lighting system is designed so thatdimming of the light does not change the spectral curve and there is anevenness or uniformity of spectral output until the lamp is dimmed to 5%output. At the dimming level of 5% the spectral output becomesPredominantly red light or approximately between 630 nm and 750 nm.Specifically red light is the light spectrum that has the lowest levelof penetration in water compared to the other visible spectralwavelength, thus again minimizing the effect on the aquatic life 16 thedwelling while providing lighting output for humans or workers withinthe facility 10. Thus this low lumen level (less than 100 lumens) redlight affords an illuminance that is of minimum effect on organisms inthe water.

In operation a plurality of light assemblies 38 are installed into afacility 10 and electrically connected to a dimming device 108 having aprogrammable timer. The assembly is connected within the barn eitherdirectly or the body 44 can be attached to provide a retro fit if neededinstead of a hard wire connection. In this manner the assembly 38 ismodular in design. The programmable timer can then be programmed toprovide gradual increases and decreases of lighting at specific times tominimize unnecessary stimuli on the aquatic life 16.

When wash down of the facilities 10 is required the assemblies 38 aresprayed with water from a power washer, hose or other water supply. Thewater then envelopes any dirt, dust, feces or other containments and thefrustroconical sections of the assembly 38 allow for easy removal of thecontainments keeping the assembly 38 and facility clean and sanitary.Because of the water tight seals water does not enter the interior ofthe assembly 38 again ensuring long life of the assembly 38. Thus, atthe very least, all of the stated problems have been overcome.

What is claimed:
 1. A system for supporting aquatic life, comprising acontainment unit for housing aquatic life having an air space, water,and an air/water interface; a lighting assembly having at least onelight source wherein the lighting assembly is placed in the air space toprovide lighting at the air/water interface; a programmable dimmingdevice electrically connected to the lighting assembly wherein thedimming device gradually increases the intensity of the light over firsta predetermined period of time and wherein the dimming device graduallydecreases the intensity of the light over a second predetermined periodof time; wherein when the intensity of the light source is reduced to 5%of the spectral output the light source emits predominately red light.2. The system of claim 1 wherein the light source is at least one lightemitting diode.
 3. The system of claim 2 wherein the lighting assemblyhas at least one first light emitting diode and at least one secondlight emitting diode.
 4. The system of claim 3 wherein the first lightemitting diode emits white light.
 5. The system of claim 3 wherein thesecond light emitting diode emits red light.
 6. The system of claim 5wherein the red light has a wavelength between 620 nm and 780 nm.
 7. Thesystem of claim 3 wherein the second light emitting diode emits bluelight.
 8. They system of claim 7 wherein the blue light has a wavelengthof between 400 nm and 500 nm.
 9. The system of claim 2 wherein the atleast one light emitting diode emits light at a predetermined wavelengthto reduce the penetration of light into the water of the containmentunit.
 10. The system of claim 9 wherein the predetermined wavelength isin a range between 630 nm and 750 nm.
 11. The system of claim 1 whereinthe first predetermined period of time is two hours.
 12. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the second predetermined period of time is two hours.13. A system for supporting aquatic life, comprising a containment unitfor housing aquatic life having an air space, water, and an air/waterinterface; a lighting assembly having at least one first light emittingdiode wherein the lighting assembly is placed in the air pace to providelighting at the air/water interface a programmable dimming deviceelectrically connected to the lighting assembly wherein the dimmingdevice gradually decreases the intensity of the light over apredetermined period of time; wherein the first light emitting diodeemits white light; and wherein the first light emitting diode emitswhite light until the dimming device reduces the emitted light to alevel of 5% of the spectral output wherein further dimming causes thefirst light emitting diode to emit red light.
 14. The system of claim 13wherein the lighting assembly further includes at least one second lightemitting diode.
 15. The system of claim 14 wherein the second lightemitting diode emits either blue or red light.
 16. A system forsupporting aquatic life, comprising a containment unit for housingaquatic life having an air space, water, and an air/water interface; alighting assembly having at least one first light emitting diode whereinthe lit assembly is placed in the air space to provide lighting at theair/water interface a programmable dimming device electrically connectedto the lighting assembly wherein the dimming device gradually decreasesthe intensity of the light over a predetermined period of time whereinthe dimming device gradually increases the intensity of the first lightemitting diode over a second predetermined period of time.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16 wherein the lighting assembly further includes atleast one second light emitting diode.
 18. The system of claim 17wherein the second light emitting diode emits either blue or red light.